Apparatus for aligning longitudinal glue seam of a tubular cardboard box blank

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the alignment of two portions of a cardboard tube made from a box blank, which portions are joined by a longitudinal glue seam, comprising an endless belt having a run resiliently urged upwards below a stop which is engaged by the box blank. Means actuated by the movement of a box blank past a sensing station intermittently actuates a pair of spaced rollers which help align the blank against the stop and intermittently actuates a vertically displaceable lever which moves down, engages the blank and forces it down together with the belt therebelow against the upward resilient urging on the belt. This moves the blank below the stop so that it can be advanced by the belt.

United States Patent 3,662,655

Saro et al. 1 May 16, 1972 [54] APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING [56] References Cited LONGITUDINAL GLUE SEAM OF A UNITED TES PATENTS TUBULAR CARDBOARD BOX BLANK 3,030,867 4/1962 Wright ..93/36 SO [72] Inventors; Karl 5 w u T d -ff, both f Dusse]- 3,326,095 6/1967 Lopez ..93/36 SQ dorf, Germany Primary Examiner-Bemard St1ckney [73] Assignee: Jagenborg-Werke AG, Dusseldorf, Ger- A m B e Di klage & Sprung many 22 Filed: Feb. 17, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for the alignment of two portions of a cardboard Appl 115949 tube made from a box blank, which portions are joined by a longitudinal glue seam, comprising an endless belt having a run resiliently urged upwards below a stop which is engaged by the box blank. Means actuated by the movement of a box [30] Forelgn Appllcatlon y Data blank pasta sensing station intermittently actuates a pair of Man 2, 1970 G spaced rollers which help align the blank against the stop and ermany 20 09 608'6 intermittently actuates a vertically displaceable lever which moves down, engages the blank and forces it down together "93/36 SQ with the belt therebelow against the upward resilient urging on 58 U00 the belt. This moves the blank below the stop so that it can be 1e 0 arch ..93/36 SO, 49 R, 93 R, 937 B advanced by the belt 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUIAY 16 um SHEET 2 [1F 4 APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING LONGITUDINAL GLUE SEAM OF A TUBULAR CARDBOARD BOX BLANK The invention relates to an apparatus for the alignment of the longitudinal glue seam of a tubular box blank made of cardboard or the like, which is urged against a stop.

In the manufacture of folded boxes it is known to form a tubular section, from a flat out blank which has been scored with fold lines, by folding in the outer side panels, the overlapping side panels being held together by a longitudinal glued seam.

In the manufacture of large folding boxes and especially in the case of corrugated cardboard folding boxes, the blanks have to be aligned, because otherwise the glue seam might be skew, which would give trouble in the subsequent manipulation of the blank and result in poorly formed boxes. The alignment must be performed before the longitudinal glue seam has set.

For this purpose, the procedure with prior-art apparatus has been to bring the leading edge of the freshly glued tubular box blank against a fixed stop in their direction of advance. For this purpose the tubular blank is gripped by aligning means at its rear edge with respect to the direction of advance. This procedure presents the danger, in the case of large and weak box blanks, that the blank may yield and bend so that perfect alignment will not be assured. Also, the end flaps of the blanks, especially if they are not of equal length, can be damaged by the pressure of the aligning action and then interfere with the desired action.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for aligning the longitudinal glued seam of a folded box blank which operates continuously without interrupting the continued feed of blanks and which assures perfect alignment without damage to the blank.

These and other objects and advantages are realized in accordance with the present invention wherein there is provided an apparatus comprising an endless belt having a run resiliently urged upwards below a stop which is in the forward path of, and engaged by, the box blank. At a predetermined point in each cycle a pair of spaced rollers contact the top of the blank and align it against the stop. Thereafter, a vertically displaceable lever is carried down against the top of the blank and the belt therebelow to clear the stop and permit the blank to advance with the belt. To this end, the lever is pivoted so that it can move forward, with the blank, against the urging of a spring, until the blank enters the nip defined by the endless belt and a second belt thereabove, just downstream of the stop.

The fulcrum of the lever is on a carriage that can be moved perpendicularly to the plane of the box blank by a piston and cylinder. The spaced rollers, which are on either side of the piston and are driven in the direction of movement of the box blanks in accordance with the sequence of the blanks, are provided with a free-wheeling system.

The endless belt is urged upwardly adjacent the stop by a roller which is carried by one end of each of a pair of lever arms whose other ends are spring-mounted. Thus, downward movement of the belt and roller is effected against the action of the spring.

The movement of the pair of rollers and the piston which is operatively connected to the vertically displaceable lever is controlled by the movement of a box blank past a sensing means.

The advantages achieved by the invention reside especially in the fact that the stationary stop permits a precise alignment, while the flow of material is not interrupted by the resulting overlapping of the box blanks. An additional advantage is that the aligned longitudinal glued seam is pressed during the feed of the blanks.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are schematic lateral elevations of the apparatus, FIGS. 1 to 4 showing successive portions of a working cycle.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a folded box blank I which has been provided with a longitu- 1 is in the aligning apparatus and abuts a fixed stop 2 with which there is associated a lever 3 and an aligning roller 4 on each side thereof. The aligning rollers 4 are borne together with the drive members (segment 5 and pinion 6) by a fork 7 which is pivotally mounted about axis 8 and is biased by the tension spring 9. The aligning rollers 4 are driven by the cylinder 10, Le. as the piston retracts from within the cylinder the segment 5 rotates counterclockwise and sets pinion 6 and rollers 4 into clockwise rotation. A stop plate 11 incorporates a guide 12 for the movement of a carriage 13, such movement being controlled by a piston operating in a cylinder 14 perpendicular to the plane of transport of the box blanks l. The lever 3 is pivotally connected to the carriage 13 and a deflector 15 assures rapid return of the lever to its initial position after displacement. A compression spring 16 serves to damp any rebounding upon return of the lever 3 to its initial position.

The upper run of an endless conveyor belt 17 is supported at the level of stop 2 by a roller 18 on one end of a lever whose other end is resiliently mounted by means of a spring, although a piston-cylinder could be substituted. An upper endless belt 19 is positioned opposite belt 17 and is trained about a roller 20 which is positioned adjacent stop 2 at the lower part of stop plate 11.

21 and 22 are belts for delivering box blanks to the aligning apparatus and 23 is a sensor associated therewith. 24 is the axis of segment 5; 25 is a limit switch for the piston of cylinder 10 and 26 is a limit switch cooperating with the piston of cylinder 14. t

The apparatus operates as follows:

The box blanks 1 are delivered to the aligning apparatus by the conveyor belts 21, 22, the leading edge of the tubular box blank engaging the stop 2. In setting up the apparatus care must be taken to see that the longitudinal glue seam that is on the top side of the box blank 1 becomes located between two adjacent aligning rolls 4, so that each lateral portion can be drawn by a roll 4 against the stop 2. When the box blank 1 has been pushed against the stop 2, the next box blank 1', upon reaching the sensing means 23 (FIG. 2), starts the very rapid process of the alignment of the longitudinal glue seam and the forwarding of the overlapped blanks that follows. The sensing means 23 transmits through conventional means (not shown) the starting pulse for the downward action of the piston in cylinder 10, which rotates the segment 5 counterclockwise about the axis 24. By meshing with pinion 6, this sets the aligning rollers 4 in clockwise rotation. The rotation imparted to the aligning rolls 4 is maintained by built-in free-wheeling mechanisms even when cylinder 10 and segment 5, after reaching the lowennost position, return to the starting point. The downward action of cylinder 10 permits the tension spring 9 to act, so that forked lever 7 pivots about its axis 8, the aligning rollers 4 moving downward until they rest on the surface of the box section 1 (FIG. 2). The flywheel moment of aligning rolls 4, which upon contact with the surface of the box blank is transmitted to the two box blank ends which are joined together by the still-fluid longitudinal glued seam, forces these ends against the stop 2, thereby completing the aligning process.

As soon as cylinder 10 has reached its lower limit, it actuates the limit switch 25 which starts the downward motion of the piston in cylinder 14 and at the same time returns cylinder 10 and forked lever 7 to their original positions. While the aligning rollers 4 are rising, the lever 3 engages the leading edge of the box blank and, continuing the downward movement produced by cylinder 14 and carriage 13, it carries the box blank 1 below the reach of the stop 2 (FIG. 3). By this movement the lower conveyor belt 17 and roller 18 are depressed, thereby producing between stop 2 and conveyor belt 17 a sufficiently wide gap for the advancement of box blank 1 by conveyor belt 17 (FIG. 4). During this advancing movement the lever 3 remains in contact with blank 1 until it has been securely engaged by belt 19.

In the lowermost position of carriage 13 the limit switch 26 dinally glued seam at an earlier station, not shown. The blank is actuated which reverses the cylinder 14. This returns lever 3 to starting position with the aid of the deflector 15. The compression spring 16 damps the rebound of the lever as it snaps back into position.

The apparatus is now restored to the condition shown in FIG. 1 except that folded, glued box blank 1, which has continuously been advancing without interruption, is now against stop 2 for another cycle.

It will be appreciated that the instant specification and examples are set forth by way of illustration and not limitation and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for the alignment of the two portions of a folded structure, such as two portions of a tubular cardboard box blank joined together by a longitudinal glue seam, comprising means for advancing said folded structure, said means being displaceable perpendicularly to its direction of advance, a stop positioned in the path of said folded structure above said advancing means so as to prevent advance of said structure by the action of said advancing means, whereby said folded structure hits said stop and is thereby aligned, and means for periodically displacing said folded structure and said advancing means therebelow so as to carry said folded structure below said stop and thereby permit said aligned structure to be advanced by said advancing means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said periodically displacing means comprises a lever, means for periodically displacing said lever from a position out of contact with said folded structure into a position in contact therewith, and a spring urging said lever into its initial position relative to its fulcrum but permitting that end of said lever which contacts said folded structure to move about its fulcrum together with said folded structure in the direction of advance.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said means for periodically displacing said lever comprises a vertically displaceable carriage carrying the fulcrum of said lever and said spring.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, including a pair of spaced rollers which are displaceable so as to contact and to disengage said folded structure, and means for displacing said rollers so as to contact said folded structure and force it against said stop for alignment.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, including means for intermittently driving said rollers, said rollers being mounted for free-wheeling for a minimum time interval even after driv ing has been discontinued.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, including sensing means positioned upstream of said advancing means and operatively connected to said means for driving said rollers and to said means for periodically displacing said carriage, movement of a folded structure past said sensing means initiating a cycle of movement of said rollers and of said carriage.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said advancing means comprises an endless belt having a run below said stop, and means resiliently urging said run toward said stop, said periodically displacing means acting against said resilient urging to displace said run of said advancing means.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, including a further advancing means positioned so as to engage the face of a folded structure opposite that engaged by said first-named advancing means, said further advancing means first contacting said folded structure immediately downstream of said stop.

9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said advancing means comprises an endless belt having a run below said stop, and means resiliently urging said run toward said stop, said periodically displacing means acting against said resilient urging to displace said run of said advancing means, said apparatus additionally including a further advancing means positioned so as to engage the face of a folded structure opposite that engaged by said first-named advancing means, said further advancing means first contacting said folded structure immediately downstream ofsaid step 

1. An apparatus for the alignment of the two portions of a folded structure, such as two portions of a tubular cardboard box blank joined together by a longitudinal glue seam, comprising means for advancing said folded structure, said means being displaceable perpendicularly to its direction of advance, a stop positioned in the path of said folded structure above said advancing means so as to prevent advance of said structure by the action of said advancing means, whereby said folded structure hits said stop and is thereby aligned, and means for periodically displacing said folded structure and said advancing means therebelow so as to carry said folded structure below said stop and thereby permit said aligned structure to be advanced by said advancing means.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said periodically displacing means comprises a lever, means for periodically displacing said lever from a position out of contact with said folded structure into a position in contact therewith, and a spring urging said lever into its initial position relative to its fulcrum but permitting that end of said lever which contacts said folded structure to move about its fulcrum together with said folded structure in the direction of advance.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said means for periodically displacing said lever comprises a vertically displaceable carriage carrying the fulcrum of said lever and said spring.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, including a pair of spaced rollers which are displaceable so as to contact and to disengage said folded structure, and means for displacing said rollers so as to contact said folded structure and force it against said stop for alignment.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4, including means for intermittently driving said rollers, said rollers being mounted for free-wheeling for a minimum time interval even after driving has been discontinued.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, including sensing means positioned upstream of said advancing means and operatively connected to said means for driving said rollers and to said means for periodically displacing said carriage, movement of a folded structure past said sensing means initiating a cycle of movement of said rollers and of said carriage.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said advancing means comprises an endless belt having a run below said stop, and means resiliently urging said run toward said stop, said periodically displacing means acting against said resilient urging to displace said run of said advancing means.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, including a further advancing means positioned so as to engage the face of a folded structure opposite that engaged by said first-named advancing means, said further advancing means first contacting said folded structure immediately downstream of said stop.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said advancing means comprises an endless belt having a run below said stop, and means resiliently urging said run toward said stop, said periodically displacing means acting against said resilient urging to displace said run of said advancing means, said apparatus additionally including a further advancing means positioned so as to engage the face of a folded structure opposite that engaged by said first-named advancing means, said further advancing means first contacting said folded structure immediately downstream of said stop. 